SUCU Branch News 9th Oct 2014

USS ballot – use your vote

What can I do to help?

Use your vote
Talk to colleagues and circulate this flyer. Its also vital that non-members understand the threat to their pension. They can join online and support the action.
Come to the General Meeting 14 Oct 1pm in the Council Chamber, Octagon Centre.

If your ballot paper hasn’t arrived please complete our online form to request a duplicate.

Regional coach to TUC Britain needs a pay rise demo, London, 18 Oct 2014

Workers in Britain are facing the biggest squeeze on their incomes since Victorian times; wages have fallen in real terms every year since 2010. Britain’s richest people have managed to DOUBLE their wealth in the five years since the financial crash with a combined fortune of £519billion. This TUC demonstration will take place at the end of a week of strikes by various unions, including FE members of UCU. Let’s make this the biggest TUC demo ever – Britain Needs a Pay Rise.
Sheffield: depart 7.45am – Paternoster Row (near Showcase Cinema) S1 2BX. Book seats on the coach via Helen Sidlow, UCU Regional Office: hsidlow@ucu.org.uk

UCU occupational stress survey 2014

UCU nationally is running the latest in our series of biennial stress surveys to monitor members’ perceptions of their working conditions. We need as many members as possible to respond to the survey to give us a good picture of the levels of work-related stress and other key issues that our members experience such as life-work conflict. The information will be used to develop our campaign for better working conditions, and to help employers tackle the causes of stress in the workplace at source. This questionnaire about your experience of work-related stress is anonymous, and all information will be treated confidentially. The survey was designed, and will be administered and analysed by a team of independent researchers.

Please click here to respond to the questionnaire. The survey should only take about 20 minutes to complete, and will remain live until Monday 20 October. If you have any queries please contact UCU health & safety advisor John Bamford (jbamford@ucu.org.uk).

Intellectual property rights advice service launched by UCU

Its called UCU IP Protect and will provide members with up to 1.5 hours of expert legal advice on intellectual property rights, what they are and how to exploit and protect them. The new service will be accessible via the UCU Support Centre. The service is being offered in a collaboration with international law firm Maclay Murray Spens LLP.